I don't think vambraces are necessarily a part of a plate armor, they can be part of any tye of armor.

I agree with this. Vambraces can be constructed of metal, leather, hide or other materials, and need not be associated only with plate armor. Leg greaves can be traced back at least to the Spartans. Bizantine infantrymen were using vambraces as early as 400 A.D. It might be that vambraces were originally inspired by the bracers worn by archers to protect their forearms.

"Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he."

Quote/One easy example that comes to mind is the Romans, who had the ballista, but did not use crossbows.
[/quote]
Hi, to be exact, the Romans, like the Greeks, knew of the crossbow. Though they did not utilize it for war, but exclusively for hunting. That goes for the Romans at least. The Greeks may have used the crossbow for martial purposes, I'm not sure.
As for The Guard of The Citadel in the LoTR movies, their armour might just as well be classified as Breast Plate in my opinion.

The crossbow seems to have first appeared in Asia in the sixth century B.C.; the use of the crossbow as a military weapon can be dated to at least the Warring States period in the second half of the fourth century B.C. The repeating crossbow in Asia can be dated as far back as the fourth century B.C.

The Greeks seem to have first invented the crossbow in Europe in the fifth century B.C. As you say, it was not originally used for warfare. However, Roman soldiers encountered a Han empire expedition into central Asia in 36 B.C.; the legionaries were reportedly defeated by the use of crossbows by the Han soldiers, leading to the crossbow being brought into military use in the Roman Empire.

None of this means that the crossbow should be introduced into Middle-earth; though, it might conceivably have been used by some Easterling peoples.

The crossbow seems to have first appeared in Asia in the sixth century B.C.; the use of the crossbow as a military weapon can be dated to at least the Warring States period in the second half of the fourth century B.C. The repeating crossbow in Asia can be dated as far back as the fourth century B.C.

The Greeks seem to have first invented the crossbow in Europe in the fifth century B.C. As you say, it was not originally used for warfare. However, Roman soldiers encountered a Han empire expedition into central Asia in 36 B.C.; the legionaries were reportedly defeated by the use of crossbows by the Han soldiers, leading to the crossbow being brought into military use in the Roman Empire.

None of this means that the crossbow should be introduced into Middle-earth; though, it might conceivably have been used by some Easterling peoples.

Since you brought it up, ref. Player’s Basic Rules Version 0.3, page 74:

Two-Weapon Fighting
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand. You don’t add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.

Happy?

"Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he."

I might let a Black Númenórean Captain from Umbar wield a two-handed sword out of sheer cussedness. Heck, I might even give him half plate just to be a bastich. Then there's that Easterling assassin with her crossbow...

Last edited by Otaku-sempai on Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.

"Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he."

I might let a Black Númenórean Captain from Umbar wield a two-handed sword out of sheer cussedness. Heck, I might even give him half plate just to be a bastich. Then there's that Easterling assassin with her crossbow...

That would be an interesting way to provide said weapons and armor into the game.

I'm doing something similar with weapons in a troll hoard - putting something exotic in there from "the ancient days".

MrUkpyr
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."